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Acknowledgement

We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation and thanks to our supervisor Dr.

Angelo Maduli, you have been an incredible mentor. You tireless efforts in guiding us and

making sure that we stepped up each time are very much appreciated. There was never a day

when you greeted us with a tired-face, despite the tight schedule that you are on, and we are

most grateful for that. You inspired us each time we arrived at a dead end, just enough to

keep us going. Your guidance, in both the research journey as well the journey of life will

always be cherished. Thank you, Dr. A.

We would also like to acknowledge Ms. Ilaria Ciaramicoli, our lecturer; you have

been no less than a supervisor. We are most thankful for your support and encouragement

throughout the research. You guided us not only to become good researches but also showed

us the importance of balance and freedom in life.

We would also like to thank our senior lecturer, Mr Kumareshan Vartarajoo, who

pushed us to critically think of a meaningful, significant and relevant topic for our research.

A special thanks goes out to Mr Rahim Benrazavi who dedicated his time towards assisting

us in ironing out the critical details of this paper. Your guidance helped us present our

findings in a more systematic way.

We are also sincerely thankful to the families of the children who took part in this

research, who were so willing to allow their children to be a part of this research. Your

willingness, support, patience, kindness will never be forgotten. A very special thanks to our

families for giving us the opportunity to pursue higher studies. We would also like to thank

all of our friends who supported us in writing, and encouraged us to strive towards our goal

and also to those who have, in any way, directly or indirectly assisted us throughout this

journey.

 

 

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Abstract

Children base their future occupations on the experience that they gather along their lifespan

development. As such, this research aimed to study the gender role stereotype perception on

occupational role in children aged 9 to 13 years old. Twenty four children aged 9 to 13 years,

from Kuala Lumpur and Selangor participated in this study. Respondents were required to

complete two tasks in order to study whether gender role stereotype exist in them and also to

study the underlying factors that cause gender role stereotype in occupational role. A

qualitative method was adapted in this study in which respondents were asked to complete a

Gender-Occupation Matching test followed by an open-ended interview. The results

indicated that gender role stereotype does exist in children and there were several factors that

may have influenced children to become gender biased in perceiving occupational role. These

factors were parents, media, peers, school, reading materials and general exposure. The

findings of the present study also support findings of previous studies indicating that

children’s behavior and thought are shaped by the environment and the behavior of people

around them.

Keywords: children, gender role stereotype, occupational role

 

 

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements i

Abstract ii

Table of Contents iii

List of Tables and Charts v

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Background of The Study 1

1.2 Statement of The Problem 2

1.3 Assumptions 3

1.4 Theoretical Framework 3

1.5 Conceptual Framework 6

1.6 Definition of Terms 7

Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature

2.1 Gender Role Stereotype 10

2.2 Occupational Roles 12

Chapter 3 Research Methodology

3.1 Research Design 17

3.2 Respondents 17

3.3 Setting and Locale 18

3.4 Instruments

3.4.1 Respondent Profile 19

3.4.2 Gender-Occupation Matching Test 19

3.4.3 Reinforcing Questions 21

 

 

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3.5 Procedures 21

3.6 Analysis 23

3.7 Summary 24

Chapter 4 Data Analysis and Findings

4.1 Introduction 25

4.2 Results

4.2.1 Respondent Profile 25

4.2.2 Gender-Occupation Matching Test 27

4.2.3 Reinforcing Questions 34

Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendation

5.1 Conclusion

5.1.1 Gender Role Stereotype 44

5.1.2 Gender Role Stereotype Perception on Occupational Roles 44

5.1.3 The Underlying Factors of Gender Role Stereotype 45

5.2 Limitations 46

5.3 Recommendations 47

References 48

Appendices

Proponents’ Curriculum Vitae

 

 

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List of Figures, Tables and Charts

Chart 1.1: Traditional masculine occupational roles perceive by respondents 29

Chart 1.2: Traditional feminine occupational roles perceive by respondents 30

Chart 1.3: Neutral occupational roles perceive by respondents 31

Table 1.1: Gender-Occupation Matching Test 32

 

 

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Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Background of the study

Men are more than twice as likely as women to be employed in a computer and

mathematic occupation and more than 3 times as likely as women to be employed in an

occupation of architecture or engineering (Sherman and Zurbriggen, 2014). On the other

hand, women are more likely than men to be employed in a social service occupation, and 3

times as likely to be employed in educational, library, service, or personal care occupations

(Sherman & Zurbriggen, 2014). The reasons for lack of men in certain occupations and lack

of women in other occupations are multiple; however the impact is possibly from gender role

socialization in which children learnt to follow the norms and behaviors that result in gender

role stereotype (Sherman & Zurbriggen, 2014).

From the moment a child is born, it is immediately placed into the categories of either

male or female. From the categorization, the same child will then be influenced by their

society with regards to activities and behaviors that are appropriate between the two sexes. In

many instances, many parents tend to label gender roles, from the toys that they buy, toys the

children will wear, up to the colors of their room and stuff they will use. Research in the

recent years have highlighted that information of occupational gender role stereotypes is

present in children three years of age and it gradually increases with age (Martin & Little,

1990 as cited in de Caroli & Sagone, 2007).

A recent research conducted by Wilbour and Kee (2010) was designed to examine

gender role stereotypes in occupational roles in children between ages 8 and 9. The children

were presented with stereotypically matched and counter-stereotypically matched

occupational roles to female and male names, and were then analyzed based on a sentence

construction test and their memory recollection (Wilbour&Kee, 2010). These findings

pointed out that gender role stereotype was present mostly towards male non-stereotypical

 

 

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occupations such as Henry-Nurse, and less towards female non-stereotypical occupations

such as Mary-doctor.

The Gottfredson’s Theory of Occupational Aspiration is useful in understanding self-

concepts and occupational concepts, of which are compared to the limited career choice

alternatives and the compromise between the employment and preference realities

(Betz, 1994).This theory suggests how occupational aspirations develop during

pre-school up to one’s college years. The theory states that career development in children

occurs in four stages; 1) children grasp the concept of being an adult and is called orientation

to size and power (ages 3-5 years);2) children understand the concept of what gender they

belong to and is referred to as the orientation to sex roles (ages 6-8 years);3) their abilities

become important when determining of social behavior and expectations and is referred to as

the orientation to social valuation (9-13); and 4) adolescent identity crisis occur which is

referred to as orientation to the internal unique self (ages 14 and onwards). The same theory

significantly influenced the current research.

The purpose of this study is to further explore the research conducted by Wilbour and

Kee by examining gender role stereotypes in occupational roles among children belonging to

the orientation to social valuation stage – children who are of the ages 9 to 13 of

Gottfredson’s Theory of Occupational Aspiration.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The aim of this study is to find out the possible influence of gender role perception on

male and female occupational roles in children.

Research of the recent years has indicated that gender role stereotype of occupational

role may have a negative impact on the development of children, and also distort their

concept of their future occupations. The consequence of gender role stereotype on

 

 

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occupational roles are said to be the contributing factors to the current occupational

segregation in the United States of America (Correll, 2004, as cited in Wilbour and Kee).

According to sociologist Ginzberg, an individual does not arrive at an ultimate decision from

a single moment of time but from the accumulation of a long period of time (Tzampazi,

Kyridis & Christodoulou, 2013).As a result, gender role stereotype in children at any stage of

life can distort their development in the perception of occupational role as well as options of

occupations that they might have.

As the awareness of children on different occupations grows, they imagine

occupational choices, draw tentative inferences, and select occupations by assessing

themselves, and the environment which surrounds them (Ginzberg et al., 1951, as cited in

Sellers, Satcher& Comas, 1999). The environment that children are exposed to between the

ages 9 to 13 includes their parents, siblings, teachers, peers and media. This study intends to

answer the following questions:

1. What is gender role stereotype as perceived by children aged 9 to 13?

2. How do the respondents perceive occupational roles in terms of gender?

3. How do the respondents identify the gender related factor(s) that may have influenced

their perception of occupational role?

1.3 Assumptions

The researchers assume the following, that gender role stereotype does exist in

children. That gender role stereotype does impact and influence the occupational choices of

children. That there are external environmental factors that influence the children’s

perception on gender-based occupational roles.

1.4 Theoretical Framework

The social learning theory states that the influence of the environmental events

acquisition of behavior is greatly determined by cognitive processes which are based on prior

 

 

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experience and determine how they are perceived, whether they will be remembered, and

how they might affect future actions (Price &Archbold, 1994). According to Price and

Achbold (1995), these cognitive processes are formulated in how they are perceived, whether

they will be remembered, and how they might affect future action. Social learning theory

states that learning occurs either by reward and punishment for behavior, or by imitation of

behavior or observation of the behavior and the consequences that the behavior has (Krohn,

1999). A child’s behavior is shaped by behaviors of others, especially parents and teachers.

Children observe the behavior of men and women and then imitate them (Tzampazi, Kyridis

& Christodoulou, 2013). De Caroli and Sagone (2007) stated that children acquire gender-

type behavior as a response to environmental reinforcements and modeling. Children are

early influenced by the environment they are exposed to, including parents, teachers, peers,

and the media. This theory is used in the current study as a framework with the intentions of

finding out the underlying factors that cause gender stereotype in occupational roles. This

study will find out the influence of their surrounding on occupational roles.

The Gottfredson’s Theory of Occupational Aspiration is useful in understanding self-

concept and occupational concepts which are compared as to the limited career choices

alternatives and the compromise between the employment and preference realities (Betz,

1994).This theory suggests how occupational aspirations develop during the preschool

through the college years. Gottfredson’s Theory of Occupational Aspiration is the most

recent theory concerning the career development concerning childhood (Sellers, Satcher, &

Comas, 1999). The major vocational elements which are elements, intelligence, social class

background, values, vocational interests, and competencies, are all merged into one’s self-

concept at different stages of cognitive development as one’s self-concept and world view

which becomes more complex and becomes more different (Gottfredson, 1981). The theory

states the career development in children occurs in four stages. The first stage of the

 

 

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development is the “orientation to size and power (ages 3-5 years), in this stage children

grasp the concept of being an adult. The second stage of the development is the “orientation

to sex roles (ages 6-8 years), in which children understand the concept of what gender they

belong to. When the children enter the third stage of development, “orientation to social

valuation” (9-13), they develop an increase abstract of self-concept of social class and their

abilities become important when determining of social behavior and expectations

(Gottfredson, 1981). The final stage of development is the “orientation to the internal, unique

self (ages 14 and onwards), this stage is often mentioned when discussing adolescent identity

crisis.

A study in which the authors used the Gottfredson’s theory as a framework for the

purpose that the school counselors can conceptualize the school failure among Latino youth

and figure out developmental, contextual, and culturally sensitive interventions so improve

the Latino student’s academic and career success (Ivers, Milsom, & Newsome, 2012). In

another study the Gottfredson’s theory of career circumscription and compromise was

examined with Asian American college students. Analyses showed that there were changes in

occupational sex type and prestige from early years and into adolescent life periods (Leung,

1993).

In this study the impact of the gender stereotype in children that fall within the third

stage of Gottfredson’s Theory of Occupational Aspiration; orientation to social valuation

(ages 9-13), will be found out. On the third stage of Gottfredson’s Theory of Occupational

Aspiration, children are able to comprehend the socioeconomically significant differences

among people and jobs, and how important they are to adult (Gottfredson&Lapan, 1997).

Also children of this stage score higher in vocational maturity (Gottfredson&Lapan, 1997).

There has been an amount of research done using the Gottfredson’s Theory of Occupational

 

 

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this stage children work hard both at home and school to attain praise and satisfaction from

the successful completion of a task (Schultz & Schultz, 2009).

Social factor are seen as the source of developmental influence that initiate a child

into a certain perception which in this case the gender-based roles which will eventually

might become their basis to differentiate occupational roles in terms of male or female.

Gender role stereotype can be identified in many factors and occupational roles

perception is seemingly one of those factors within the wider context of gender role

stereotype. Occupational roles in this study are categorized into masculine traditional

occupations, feminine traditional occupations, and neutral occupations. A child’s perception

on occupational aspirations changes over time with the help of gender stereotype. At this age

gender role stereotype in children can disrupt their development when perceiving

occupational roles, this might influence their choices and limit their options. Occupational

roles and gender role stereotype lie within the context of social factors in which the

environment these children aged 9 to 13 are exposed to. These social factors include parents,

peers, reading materials, media, and general experiences.

1.6 Definition of Terms

Gender Role Stereotype Gender is a description of some of the most basic

characteristics of humans (Pryzgoda and Chrisler, 2000). It usually refers to social,

psychological, and behavioral characteristics of men and women (Pryzgoda&Chrisler, 2000),

particularly referring to of non-physiological components of sex that are culturally regarded

as appropriate for males or females (Unger, 1976).According to Unger (1976), gender is a

social label in which two groups of people are distinguished.

Stereotype refers to the generalization of groups that are applied to individual group

members because they belong to the particular group, while gender stereotype refers to the

generalizations made about the attributes of men and women (Heilman, 2012). Gender role

 

 

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stereotype occur when an individual has to follow a series of norms, practices, or behaviors

because of their gender, in other words, gender role stereotypes are powerful moderates of

behavior (Scantlebury, 2009).

For the purpose of this study, the gender role stereotype is defined as the belief and

attitude an individual has about characteristics, and activities that are appropriate for the

respective male and female genders. There are toys, career choices, academic achievements,

hobbies, etc., that are expected of men or women, and those are the ones that are seen as

appropriate for the sexes respectively.

Occupational Role Occupational role is a set of behaviors that are linked to social

norms that allows an individual to organize and accommodate their time for work, play,

social activities, rest, and leisure (TheFreeDictionary.com, 2014). Examples of occupational

roles are student, worker, spouse, and caregiver (TheFreeDictionary.com, 2014).

For the purpose of this research, occupational roles represent the everyday job titles

and roles of adults such as doctor, engineer, nurse, teacher and homemaker. There are female

traditional occupational roles (teacher, fashion designer, florist, hair dresser, nurse, secretary

and baby-sitter), male traditional roles (astronaut, pilot, doctor, solider, police, fire fighter,

and mechanic) and neutral traditional roles (dentist, chef, journalist, singer, and artist).

Perception Perception is the awareness of the elements of the environment through

physical sensations such as color, and these physical perceptions could also be interpreted in

the light of experience (Perception, 2012). Perception is what a person thinks to be true, and

is the truth in their mind which leads to their decision being based on that (Potgieter, 2011).

Potgieter (2011) also believes that perception is based on each individual’s reality, whether

an individual sees that the world is full of obstacles or is surrounded by choices.

For the purpose of this study, perception indicates the results of the thought process of

the children who will be taking part in the study. Perception indicates how these children

 

 

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observe the occupational roles of people around them and internalize these roles before

projecting them through their speech and actions.

 

 

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Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature

2.1 Gender Role Stereotype

Children try to make sense of their surrounding which they do by using gender cues

that are provided to them by society to help them interpret what they see and what they hear

(Martin &Ruble, 2004). According to Martin and Ruble (2004), one must understand the

developmental changes of gender which may be accounted for by children’s cognitive

abilities and their evolving understanding of concepts. These developmental changes bring

out the relative strength of children’s gender-related beliefs and behaviors are predicted to

decline. Additionally, evidence suggests that gender stereotyping shows a developmental

pattern that can be categorized into three phases; first, during the toddler and preschool years

children begin to learn about gender related characteristics, second, children between the ages

5 and 7 acquire new gender knowledge in which it reaches its peak of rigidity, lastly, a phase

of relative flexibility occur (Trautner et al., 2003). Children learn at an early age what it

means to be a boy or a girl. Children start to understand the concept of gender identity by the

time they are 2 years, and they know if they are a boy or a girl by the age of 3 (Martin

&Ruble, 2004). When children reach the ages between 3 and 5 they begin to understand what

it means to be a male or a female (Aina& Cameron, 2011). By the age of 5, children develop

configuration of gender stereotype that they apply to themselves and others (Martin &Ruble,

2004).

Children ought to be brought up in a society that does not stereotype gender or gender

roles. As such, children will be able to attain knowledge, skills and abilities based on their

individual choices without being tied down to stereotypical roles and rules set by the society.

However, research in the recent years have highlighted that information of occupational

gender stereotypes is present in children 3 years in age and increases gradually with age

(Martin & Little, 1990 as cited in de Caroli & Sagone, 2007). As a result, children are said to

 

 

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have gender stereotype on choice of toys, sociocognitive as well as occupation

(Caroli&Sagone, 2007).

Children learn according to the information they receive from their surroundings, it

generally comes to the child from the parent-child interaction, reinforcement for desired

behavior, parental approval or disapproval, and role modelling (Witt, 1997). Adult’s may

influence the gender role development in children, and may learn about gender stereotype

through direct exposure to adult’s stereotype (Martin, 1995). Children may come to behave

according to gender-typed labels that have been attributed to them by the influence of adult’s

attributions through behavioral confirmation of expectation (Martin, 1995). Besides that,

peers also play an important role as communicators of sex-role norms (Kessels, 2005). A

study by Egan & Perry (2001) on 64 children which required to children to name their

favorite activity while they were alone and once more when their peers were around. The

findings of this study showed that their answer were more gender typical when their peers

were around. In addition, a study conducted by McGhee and Frueh (1980) on children

between ages 6 to 13 found that heavy television viewers (children who spent 25 or more

hours for television per week) reported higher gender role stereotype as compared to light

television viewers (children who spent 10 or less hours for television per week). This study

indicated that media have an influence on children gender role stereotype.

There are a wide number of researches that have been conducted on gender role

stereotype on choices of toys, academic achievements, hobby choices, etc. However, there is

limited research on gender role stereotype on occupational role among children. The few

studies that were found indicate that the knowledge of occupational gender stereotype is

present in children as young as 3 years of age, and seems to increases with age (Martin &

Little, 1990 as cited in de Caroli & Sagone, 2007). Children also continue to strive for gender

typed occupations, because they receive a positive affective reaction by doing so (Caroli &

 

 

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Sagone, 2007). In a study which examined the occupational aspirations of 4-and-5-year-old

children, the researchers categorized the participants’ responses as female, male, or neutral.

The results for this study showed that; there was an early bias association with identifying the

same gender adult, while males aspired to more gender-typed fields, girls chose evenly

between female, male, and neutral occupations, and when the children were asked to rule out

occupations that they would not want, both girls and boys rejected the traditional female

occupations than male and neutral occupations (Care, Denas, &Brown, 2007). In another

study conducted on preschoolers and primary school children, the researchers intended to

find out the children’s perception on how much money men and women earn in gender typed

occupation. It turned out that children viewed men to be more competent than women in

masculine occupations and that they earned more money than women in those occupations,

and that women are more competent in feminine occupations and that women earned more

money than men in those occupations (Levy, Sadovsky & Troseth, 2000)

This study focuses on gender role stereotype on occupational roles among children

within the orientation to social valuation stage of the ages 9 to 13. Parents, media, and

teachers influence children’s career aspirations, it is important to note that children are also

influenced by their parents’ socio-economic status, and educational background (Tzampazi,

Kyridis & Christodoulou, 2013). In the orientation to social valuation stage, children’s career

preference evolves and they become aware of social status which leads them to view less

prestigious occupation negatively (Teig & Susskind, 2008).

2.2 Occupational Roles

There are many factors such as family, society and school that may contribute to the

influence of children’ future career choices. However, gender is the main factor in shaping

children’ preferences of future occupational aspirations. A study conducted by Wilbourn and

 

 

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Kee (2010), explored whether children’s occupational stereotypes were less restrictive

towards females engaged in counter-stereotypic occupations compared to males engaged in

counter-stereotypic occupations (Wilbourn & Kee, 2010). Their participants were aged 8 to 9

years old that were presented with stereotypic male and female names paired with masculine

and feminine occupations and they were asked to create sentences using the name-occupation

pairs. The findings of this study showed that children’s gender role stereotypes were stricter

towards males than they were for females (Wilbourn & Kee, 2010).

A study on career choice of primary school children found that, boys tend to choose

traditional masculine jobs(such as fire fighter, scientist, doctor) while girls tend to choose

traditional feminine jobs (such as teacher, dancer, hairdresser). This study suggested that

children tend to present high gender stereotype in career choices (Miller & Budd, 1999). A

survey of 506 female teenagers between the ages13 to 18 years old in UK found that 32% of

them wanted to be models; 29% of them wanted to be actress, whereas only 4% of them

wanted to be engineers. Moreover, participants in this survey reported that science is always

associated with masculinity, which in other words they believe that science is a field for

males (Gould, 2008). A study of 150 children (78 boys and 72 girls) found that 44.7% of

boys chose traditional male occupation as their future career while 33.3% of girls chose

traditional female occupation as their future career. At the same time, only 10% of the

children chose occupations which traditionally belong to the opposite gender (Tzampazi,

Kyridis & Christodoulou, 2013). Another study of 136 children (68 girls and 68 boys) aged

between 8 to 12 years in Italy found that children tend to classify occupations which required

more physical energy such as mechanic, fireman and truck driver as male-occupation,

whereas, the participants classified domestic types of occupation such as baby sitters, maid

and teacher as female-occupations. This study suggested that children tend to have high

gender stereotypes in choice of occupations (De Caroli & Sagone, 2007).

 

 

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Although many researchers have reported that young children tend to have high

gender stereotype in choosing future career, other researchers indicated that children tend to

decrease their level of gender role stereotype in career choices as they grow older (Miller &

Budd, 1999).

Family relationships

Parents in particular, play an important role in children’s future career choices. A

study of children’s preference of future occupational aspiration found that children tend to

choose the career of their parents or their relatives (Tzampazi, Kyridis & Christodoulou,

2013). The same study also found that children whose fathers’ hold a university education

are more likely to choose traditional occupation based on their gender which indicates that

parents’ educational background could affect children in career choices (Tzampazi, Kyridis &

Christodoulou, 2013). Besides that, parents’ expectations also contribute in shaping

children’s future career choices. Studies have shown that working class parents are more

likely to have higher expectation towards their children, for them to gain a better job than the

occupations they have themselves (Irwin, Sarah & Elley, 2013). However, these studies may

not be able to draw a definite relationship between family and children’ future career choices,

because their choices may be affect by their limited knowledge towards different

occupations.

Toys

Additionally, studies have shown that toys are also a contribution in shaping children’

future career choices. A study of 45 girls who aged 4 to 7 years old found that girls who play

with Barbie dolls reported to have lesser career options in the future for themselves, but more

career options for boys. Besides that, the same study also found that girls who played with

control doll (Mrs. Potato Head) reported the similar amount of possible future careers for

themselves as they reported for boys, therefore, it was concluded in the research that toys

 

 

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that children play with have a significant impact on their perception of the possible future

career choices. This study suggested that girls who exposed to sexualized toys (Barbie)

decrease their perception of career possibilities for themselves. In other words, sexualization

exposure may impose limits on children (Sherman & Zurbriggen, 2014). However, the

sample size in this study was small; therefore the result of this study may not be able to

generalize to a large population.

School education

Another factor that contributes to shaping children’s future career choices is school

education. For example, girls are always expected to perform badly in mathematics. A

research on 247 elementary children aged 6 to 10 years old found that children as young as

second grade reported that “math is for boys”. This study suggested that math-gender

stereotype in school may limit the ability for girls in mathematics which may affect their

future career choices (Cvencek, Meltzoff & Greenwald, 2011). However, math-gender

stereotypes in school may not be the main factor to affect girls’ career choices, but they may

affect other factor such as self-interest or parents expectation. Besides that, reading materials

such as textbooks, storybooks and others have an influence on perception towards

occupational role. A longitudinal study on Zimbabwean girls from age 9 to 12 found that,

girls who were exposed to gender-atypical storybook for a longer duration were noted to have

changed their career plans from gender-typical occupations to gender-atypical occupations.

Whereas this change was noted to be much lesser among girls who were not exposed gender-

atypical storybooks (Nhundu, 2007). Another research conducted on 9 and 10 year old

children found that children were more likely to perceive females to participate in gender-

atypical activities after they read storybooks with the female protagonists in gender-atypical

activities (Scott & Feldman-Summers, 1979). A recent study indicated that the number of

occupations that children believe is appropriate for women, increased after those children

 

 

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were exposed to a storybook with female protagonists in atypical gender roles (Karniol &

Gal-Disegni, 2009).

Therefore, our current study will take in all these factors into consideration in order to

study whether these factors contribute to affecting the future career choices of the participants

in our study.

 

 

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Chapter 3 Research Methodology

3.1 Research Design

The design of this research was mainly qualitative. There were three parts to the

research; respondent profiling, gender-occupation matching test and a follow-up interview.

A qualitative research method, according to Creswell (2003) is best applied for

researchers to obtain a better understanding of human behavior, experiences and opinions. A

qualitative method is frequently used by researchers to study the “how” and “why” of current

phenomenon in real life setting (Yin, 1993). Since this research seeks to understand how

children identify with the gender related factors that may influence their perception of

occupational role and how much influence they think gender related factors may affect their

future choice of occupation, it is best to adapt to the qualitative research method, which will

allow researchers to obtain more detail and rich information. Additionally, Kvale (1996)

explains that interviews are a great way to understand the meaning of the experiences of the

respondents from their perspective.

According to Patton (1990) “Qualitative data can put flesh on the bones of quantitative

results, bringing results to life through in-depth case elaboration” (p. 132) and thus can play a

significant role in bringing out the best in a research. Since the research seeks to answer both

prevalence as well as factors which influence these results, a hybrid method of combining

qualitative and quantitative methods, would be able to elicit a comprehensive understanding

of both variables.

3.2 Respondents

A random sample of 24 respondents aged between 9 to 13 years was selected from

Kuala Lumpur and Selangor area in Malaysia. Out of the 24 respondents in the study, 16

were female and 8 were male. The respondents were selected based on a convenience

sampling method. The respondents had a general grasp and understanding of spoken and

 

 

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written English and Bahasa Malaysia language (both languages are compulsory in public and

private schools) with some having a stronger understanding and dominant usage of one

language above the other.

Since the respondents involved in this study were below the legal age in Malaysia

(below 18) to consent for themselves, an informed consent form and brief description about

this study was provided to the parents or guardians of the respondents to ensure that they

fully understand the process of this study. The informed consent, an agreement for

respondents to participate in a particular study voluntarily (Li, 2004) served as a verification

of the willingness of the parents and respondents to participate in the study and to validate

their understanding of the nature of the study. Their rights in the study, the process of the

study, as well as the benefits and risk of the study were made clear to tell as part of the

informed consent. Additionally, a brief verbal explanation of the aim and objective of the

study was carefully conveyed to the parents or caretakers of the respondents.

3.3 Setting and Locale

This study was conducted within the area of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor in Malaysia.

The respondents of the study typically hailed from a medium to high socioeconomic status

(SES) class and were students of either public school or private institutions within the area.

3.4 Instruments

The main instrument in current study was Gender-Occupation matching test which

adapted from study conducted by De Caroli and Sagone (2007). The research by De Caroli

and Sagone aimed to study endorsement of gender stereotypes regarding toys, occupations

and sociocognitive traits in a sample of 136 Italian children aged 8 to 12 years old. In the

research conducted by De Caroli and Sagone, the occupations that were chosen selected cards

reflected traditionally masculine occupations, traditionally feminine occupations and neutral

occupations.

 

 

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3.4.1 Respondent Profile

The respondent profile consisted of an interview that comprised of open ended

questions as attached in the appendix. The respondent profile was aimed at attaining

information about the respondents understanding of the occupational roles held by their

family members (such as parents and siblings) and occupational ambitions of family and

children of their ages (such as siblings and close friends). (See appendix 2)

3.4.2 Gender-Occupation Matching Test

The Gender-Occupation Matching Test was adapted from the study conducted by De

Caroli and Sagone (2007). In the adaptation process, several changes were made to the list of

occupations to suit the understanding level, cultural context and occupation exposure of

Malaysian participants. Occupations such as ‘Mason’ and ‘Confectioner’ which are

occupations more recognized in the West were eliminated and replaced with occupations that

are more recognized in Malaysian contexts. Also occupations that ends with “man” such as

postman was eliminated and replaced by ‘Solider’, and ‘Policeman’ was replaced by simply

‘Police’.

For the purpose of this study, 14 cards of traditionally masculine occupations (2 of

each listen occupation), 14 cards of traditionally feminine occupations (2 of each listen

occupation) and 10 cards of neutral occupations (2 of each listen occupation) were used.

Traditional masculine occupational roles for this research are listed as below:

Astronaut - going to the moon

Pilot - flying the airplane

Doctor - treating sick patients

Mechanic - repairing cars

Solider – defend country

 

 

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Fire fighter - putting out fire

Police - catching thieves

Traditional feminine occupational roles for this research are listed as below:

Teacher - teaching at schools and tuitions

Nurse - caring for patients at hospitals

Fashion designer - designing and making clothes

Hair dresser - cutting and styling hair

Baby-sitter - taking care of children

Secretary - making appointments

Florist – sell flowers

Neutral occupational roles for this research are listed as below:

Dentist - fixing teeth

Singer - singing songs

Painter - painting pictures

Journalist - writing in newspaper

Chef - cooking at restaurants

All of the above listed occupations were tested in a test pre-test that was carried out prior

to the research to determine the baseline knowledge of children in Malaysian on the 19

chosen occupations for this research. The results of the pre-test were used to alter the list of

occupations accordingly; to keep the familiar occupations and to eliminate the unfamiliar

ones.

The name the 19 different occupations were printed out on a 21 by 6 cm white colored

paper in black-colored font. This is to reduce the chances of color becoming the confounding

variable. Past researches have indicated that color plays a significant role in altering the mood

and decisions of children. A study of 98 Jewish boys and girls who aged from 4 to 8 years old

 

 

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found that girls are most likely to choose the pink color booklet while boys are most likely to

choose the blue color booklet. The same study also found that boys and girls tended not to

use pink color to color the male characters in the booklet (Karniol, 2011). Therefore, this

research attempted to eliminate the possibility of color influencing the decision and reasoning

of the respondents by using neutral colors.

3.4.3 Reinforcing Questions

In the final step of the research, qualitative open-ended questions were designed. The re-

enforcing questions were used to elicit deeper response from the respondents about how they

identify the gender related factor that may influence their perception of occupational role

qualify their choices.

Sample of the reinforcing questions:

1. Why do you put (certain) job to (certain) gender?

2. Why do you think is it meant for that and not for the other one?

3. Is there anyone or anything that influence you to think that way?

4. Where did you learn this from?

3.5 Procedures

At the beginning of the session, informed consent was given to the parents or

caretakers of the respondents to ensure that they know their rights and are willing to

participate in this study. Each of the respondents was told that he or she will have to

complete three steps in the study; first step in the study consisted of an interview

(respondents profile); the second step of the study consisted of Gender-Occupations matching

test and the third step in the study was a thorough qualitative interview with reinforcing

questions.

In the respondent profile, respondent were required to answer few open-ended

questions. These open-ended questions in the interview were intended to elicit the

 

 

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experiences of the respondents from their perspective of occupational roles. Answers drawn

from the interview would be able to explain what the children understand of occupational

roles and how they see themselves in the context of occupational roles (through their

ambitions).

In Gender-Occupation Match Test, ‘Julie’ (female name) and ‘Peter’ (male name)

were written on a piece of paper and placed on the table, facing the respondents. The reason

for using these two names was because they are non-cultural biased typical male and female

name, instead of just plainly writing ‘female’ and ‘male’ on a piece of paper was so that they

identify with the character and so that they are not lead on by the researcher. Then each

respondent were given a set of 38 cards with 19 different occupations. The reason why they

were given 2 of each occupation is so that they have the opportunity to place the cards of one

occupation such as ‘policeman’ on both the female and male names should they think that the

occupation is subjected to both gender. The giving of 2 cards per occupation is also to

eliminate the bias that may occur if they have one card of each occupation. Should they be

given only one card, they may think that the occupational roles fits both male and female

gender, but be inclined to place it at one gender because they have a limited number of cards.

Therefore the 2 cards per occupation are to eliminate any form of bias.

The respondents were asked to classify regarding who would be more likely to work

as a given job (for example, who would be more likely to be baby-sitter?). Then the

respondents were required to assign the 38 cards to either the card of female character or the

card of male character. However, if respondents perceive certain occupation as neutral

occupation (available for both gender), they were required to assign the cards to both side. To

ensure that every participant understands each of the occupation, there was a brief description

of each occupation session before this task.

 

 

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In the final step of the study, 24 respondents were asked a list of open-ended

reinforcing questions based on the results of the Gender-Occupation matching test.

Following the last step of the study, there was a de-brief session in which the

respondents were told that the task and interview do not in any way indicate that the

occupational roles are tied or associated to the gender and that it was merely an activity. This

is to make sure that the respondents do not build a stereotypic perception of occupational

roles based on gender as a result of the task and interview.

3.6 Analysis

The examination of the result in the Gender-Occupation Matching Test was carried

out by noting down the respondent’s occupation matching to the two genders- female and

male. Neutral occupations matching were also recorded. Once the response from 24

respondents is obtained, a pattern of occupational role stereotype based on female and male

segregation was drawn out. If a respondent places an occupation only on either the female or

male name, a presence of gender role stereotype on that particular role was recorded for that

respondent. An analysis of the accumulated response would create a pattern of which

occupational roles have the most amount of gender role stereotype (female/male) and which

occupational roles are without gender role stereotype (neutral). Based on these patterns, it

determined which occupational roles are subjected to most amounts of gender stereotype and

how the respondents have perceived occupational roles in terms to gender.

In the final step of the study, the response of the respondents was analyzed by using

thematic analyses. Thematic analyses tended to describe and identify both explicit and

implicit ideas within a data. This type of method of analysis are very useful in qualitative

research especially researchers in current study used open-ended questions which may

receive complex and vary responses from the respondents. Thematic analyses could help

researchers to capture the complexities of the meaning within a textual data by using codes.

 

 

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Codes are developed to represent the certain pattern of responses and then applied or linked

to raw data for later analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

The findings were validated through a respondent comparing method, in which the

results were compared between respondents to make sure that there are no outlier results.

3.7 Summary

The researchers used a quantitative method and qualitative method in this current

study to be able to understand what gender role stereotype is, as perceived by children

between the ages 9 to 13. The hybrid of both methods is important to find out the prevalence

level and pattern of occupational role stereotype based on gender and to be able to understand

the underlying and gender related factors that may influence the perception of the

respondents. In the first stage, there were a profiling and a gender-occupation matching test

and in the second stage, a detail and in-depth interview was conducted to elicit rich data.

 

 

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Chapter 4 Data Analysis and Findings

4.1 Introduction

As the awareness of children about occupation grows, they imagine occupational

choices, draw tentative inferences, and select occupations by assessing oneself and the

environment around them (Ginzberg et al., 1951 as cited in Sellers, Satcher & Comas, 1999).

The environment that children are exposed to between the ages 10 to 12 include parents,

siblings, teachers, peers and media. This study, therefore intends to investigate the underlying

factors that cause gender stereotype in occupational role. This study also intends to answer

the following questions:

1. What is gender role stereotype as perceived by children aged 9 to 13?

2. How do the respondents perceive occupational roles in terms to gender?

3. How do the respondents identify the gender related factor that may influence their

perception of occupational role qualify their choices?

4.2 Results

4.2.1 Respondent Profile

In answering the first research question which is: what is gender role stereotype as

perceived by children aged 9 to 13? It was found that children in this age category had

perceived gender role stereotype through their division of male traits and female traits.

For instance, respondents who had learnt that boys were strong and brave had linked

those gender role stereotypes to an occupation which they believe require strength. One such

example by a respondent was that pilots’ working hours are long and require immense

determination and strength. Therefore the respondent matched his previous learnt gender role

stereotype to the requirements of a pilot, and indicated that only boys can become pilots. The

respondent’s response was:

 

 

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“Pilots are required to be strong because they need to stay awake for a long time. And

if they need to stay awake for a long time, then need to be strong and boys are strong.

Girls cannot stay awake at night.”

In another example, a respondent had said that girls are not fit to become firefighter

and linked it their being weak:

“The machines that the firefighters need to carry are very heavy and for that you need

to be strong and so girls cannot carry those machines because they are not as strong as

boys.”

Common words used by respondents to support their perception towards masculine

occupations were dangerous, strong, brave, fast, smart, rough and simple dressing. These

words were used by both female and male respondents to support their perception towards

what they thought were male-occupations

Many respondents who had indicated that only girls can become nurses and baby-

sitters (both feminine-typical-occupations) had responded in linking the female stereotypical

role of being caring and gentle to the occupation. The respondents who perceived it such

were both boys and girls.

“Nurses need to care and be gentle with patients. They cannot be rough. Girls are

caring and gentle and they treat the patients very well.”

“Baby-sitter need to care for children and take them to the park and change them and

feed them. Boys are too rough, only girls can care for children.”

Common words used by respondents to support their perception towards feminine

occupations were girl’s job, gentle, like to dress up, like flower, creative, dependent, patient,

 

 

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caring, careful and soft. These words were used by both female and male respondents to

support their perception towards what they thought were female-occupations.

This indicates that children did in deed have a stereotypical perception on gender, in

which they had aligned traits that they perceived were more feminine and traits that they

believed were more masculine. In a related study done on preschoolers and primary school

children, the researchers wanted to find out the children’s perception on how gender role

stereotype of how much money men and women earn in gender typed occupation. It turned

out that children viewed men to be more competent than women in masculine occupations

and that they earned more money than women in those occupations, and that women are more

competent in feminine occupations and that women earned more money than men in those

occupations (Levy, Sadovsky and Troseth, 2000) clearly indicating that children had a

stereotyped perception on gender.

Such learnt stereotype may have influenced them to make connection with

occupational requirements.

4.2.2 Gender-Occupation Matching Test

This instrument was designed to answers the second research question which is: how

do the respondents perceive occupational roles in terms to gender?

Through the gender-occupation matching test, it was found that, in the attribution of

19 different occupations, respondents showed gender role stereotyped on occupational roles,

in which:

1. Four out of seven traditionally masculine occupations assessed by respondents were

perceived as male-based occupation by the respondents. (See table 1)

Occupations that respondents perceived as male-based occupations include fire-

fighter (nM=13; female respondents=9, male respondents= 4); mechanic (nM=16;

 

 

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female respondents =10, male respondents =6); pilot (nM=13; female respondents =9,

male respondents =4) and soldier (nM=13; female respondents =8, male respondents

= 5) (See Chart 1).

2. Three out of seven traditionally feminine occupations assessed by respondents were

perceived as female-based occupations. (See table 1)

Occupations that respondents perceived as female-based occupations included baby-

sitter (nF=22, female=15 vs. male=7); florist (nF=15, female=11 vs. male=4) and

nurse (nF=21, female=16 vs. male= 5) (See Chart 2).

3. Respondents also perceived the following occupations in a neutral outlook in which

they perceived these occupations to be for both females and males. Both female-and-

male-based occupations, as perceived by the respondents included doctor, singer,

teacher, chef, dentist and journalist. The results were indicated as doctor

(nN=23;female respondents=15, male=8); singer (nN=23; female respondents=15,

male respondents=8); teacher (nN=22; female respondents=15,male respondents= 7)

;chef (nN=22;female respondents=14,male respondents =8); dentist (nN=21;female

respondents=13,male respondents=8)and journalist (nN=20;female respondents=14,

male respondents=4) (See Chart 3).

nM is the number of respondents who perceived an occupation as a male-based occupation

(an occupation that only males can do).

nF is the number of respondents who perceived an occupation as a female-based occupation

(an occupation that only females can do)

nN is the number of respondents who perceived an occupation as a neutral-based occupation

(an occupation that both females and males can do).

 

 

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Chart 1.1

Chart 1.1: Traditional masculine occupational roles as perceived by respondents

13

16

13 13

1

10

5

0 0 0 0 01

0

11

8

11 11

23

13

19

F I R E ‐F I GHTER

MECHAN I C P I LOT SO LD I E R DOCTOR AS TRONAUT POL I C E

TRADITIONAL MASCULINE OCCUPATIONAL ROLES

Male‐based occupations Female‐based occupations Male‐ and Female‐ based occupations

 

 

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Chart 1.2

Chart 1.2 Traditional feminine occupational roles as perceived by respondents

0 0 0 0 0

5

0

2

21

11

9

22

5

15

22

3

13

15

2

14

9

TEACHER NURSE HA I R ‐DRE S S ER

FA SH ION ‐DES IGNER

BABY ‐ S I T T ER S ECRE TAT Y F LOR I S T

TRADITIONAL FEMININE OCCUPATIONAL ROLES

Male‐based occupations Female‐based occupations Male‐ and Female‐based occupations

 

 

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Chart 1.3

Chart 1.3: Neutral occupational roles as perceived by respondents

2 2

3

2

1

0

1 1

3

0

22

21

20

19

23

C H E F DENT I S T JOURNAL I S T PA IN T ER S INGER

NEUTRAL OCCUPATIONAL ROLES Male‐based occupations Female‐based occupations Male‐ and Female‐based occupations

 

 

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Table 1.1

Gender-Occupation Matching Test (N=24, female=16, male=8)

Occupations as Perceived by Respondents as:

Male & Female Based Female Based Male Based Occupations Occupations Occupations

Respondents: Male Female Male Female Male Female

Occupations:

Astronaut 4 9 0 1 4 6

Baby-sitter 1 1 7 15 0 0

Chef 8 14 0 0 0 2

Dentist 8 13 0 1 0 2

Doctor 8 15 0 0 0 1

Fashion Designer 4 11 4 5 0 0

Florist 4 5 4 11 0 0

Fire-fighter 4 7 0 0 4 9

Hair-dresser 3 10 5 6 0 0

Journalist 6 14 0 1 2 1

Mechanic 2 6 0 0 6 10

Nurse 2 1 6 15 0 0

Painter 8 11 0 3 0 2

Pilot 4 7 0 0 4 9

Police 4 15 0 0 4 1

Secretary 5 9 1 4 2 3

Singer 8 15 0 0 0 1

Soldier 3 8 0 0 5 8

Teacher 7 15 1 1 0 0

Note: 1) Female-based occupation means respondents perceived that occupation only for female.

2) Male-based occupation means respondents perceived that occupation only for male.

3) Female- and male-based occupation mean respondents perceived that occupation for both female and male.

 

 

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In the seven traditionally masculine occupations, the findings indicted that more

female respondents had perceived the occupation to be a male-based occupation, pointing out

that females had shown more gender role stereotype on masculine occupations. It was the

female respondents who classified that only men could do masculine occupations and that

females could not. A previous research which suggested that primary school children tend to

present high gender stereotype in career choices found that, boys tend to choose traditional

masculine jobs(such as fire fighter, scientist, doctor) while girls tend to choose traditional

feminine jobs (such as teacher, dancer, hairdresser) (Miller & Budd, 1999). The current study

supports the findings of the previous study in indicating that females indeed tend to choose

traditionally females jobs. However, the additional finding of this study is that females tend

to have more stereotyped perception against females doing traditionally masculine

occupations.

The current study also yielded results that female respondents were more inclined to

perceive that only females should do feminine occupations as compared to male respondents

perceiving that only males should do masculine occupation. The results of this study slightly

opposing the results of a study of 150 children (78 boys and 72 girls) which found that boys

tend to choose gender-traditional occupation (boys choosing masculine occupation and girls

choosing feminine occupation) more than girls choosing gender-traditional occupations. It

was indicated in the study that 44.7% of boys chose traditional male occupation as their

future career while 33.3% of girls chose traditional female occupation as their future career.

However, in the present study, it was found that female respondents were almost two times

more inclined to match a female name to a traditionally female occupation than male

respondents would be, to match a male name to a traditionally masculine occupation.

Another study conducted by Tzampazi, Kyridis and Christodoulou (2013) found that

only 10% of children chose occupations which traditionally belong to the opposite gender. In

 

 

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considering the results to this study, it was found that 4 of the feminine occupations were

perceived as neutral occupations by the male respondents, indicating that the findings of this

study differed from the previous study conducted by Tzampazi, Kyridis & Christodoulou. It

was found that the difference in the findings could be attributed to cultural differences and

exposure to daily practices. For instance, the occupation ‘teacher’, although perceived to be a

feminine based occupation in the beginning of the research was classified as a neutral based

occupation by almost all respondents. This could be due to the fact that all schools in

Malaysia have a certain number of male and female teachers, and as such the respondents

have been exposed to the occupation as one that can be practiced by both females and males.

4.2.3 Reinforcing Questions

The aim of the reinforcing questions was to answer our third question which is: how

do the respondents identify the gender related factor(s) that may have influenced their

perception of occupational role? As the thematic was identified in accordance to the data

analysis, several underlying factors were recognized as the prominent and obvious factors

that may have influenced the respondents’ gender-based stereotypical perception towards

occupational roles. The factors which were identified as the contributing factors towards the

respondents’ gender-stereotype thinking or their non-gender-stereotype thinking were

parents, peers, reading material, media, school and general experiences.

Parents.

One of the factors that were identified as a contributing factor was parents. In both

gender-based stereotypical perceptions and gender-based non-stereotypical perceptions,

respondents had pointed out their parent’s roles, actions, or words which caused them to

‘think’, ‘feel’ or ‘perceive’ the occupational role in that particular manner. For instance, in

supporting his perception of why only males can become mechanics (gender-role stereotype

 

 

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perception) one of the respondents noted that only his father and grandfather were the only

ones at home who repaired the sink when it was spoil.

“You see, when the sinks or anything else at home goes spoil, only my father and

babaji (grandfather) are the ones who fix them, did mummy do anything? No. So

that’s why only boys can fix. Girls don’t”

Another respondent in supporting her decision of why she thought that both genders (gender-

role non-stereotype perception) could become lawyers and why she wanted to become a

lawyer, indicated her father as an influential factor:

“My father is a lawyer. He says it is good. He has so many friends, girl lawyers. And

the money is good too. We live a comfortable life. So if I become a lawyer, the money

will be good too. And I will live a comfortable life”

Past research has indicated that a child’s behavior is shaped by behaviors of others,

especially parents and teachers, through the process of observation and imitation (Tzampazi,

Kyridis & Christodoulou, 2013). De Caroli and Sagone (2007) stated that children acquire

gender-type behavior as a response to environmental reinforcements and modeling which is

first observed from parents, clearly pointing out that parents bring an important influence to

the gender-role stereotype perception of children.

It was additionally observed that the respondents also shaped their personal future

reality (her ambition) based on their parents’ occupation. In line with the finding is a study of

children’s preference of future occupational aspiration which found that children tend to

choose the career of their parents or their relatives (Tzampazi, Kyridis & Christodoulou,

2013). Besides that, it is said that parents’ expectations also contribute in shaping children’s

future career choices (Irwin, Sarah, & Elley, 2013).

 

 

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Therefore, it is apparent that parents’ influence is crucial in shaping the perceived

reality of children on gender-role stereotype specifically in occupational roles.

Peers.

Besides parents, peers have been noted to be factors that influence the perception of

the respondents towards gender role stereotype of occupational role. Peers in this study, are

represented by friends who attend the same school, tuition classes, social gatherings and play

sessions. If their peers have voiced out their ambition or desire to assume occupation, then

the respondents’ perception towards the occupation is molded to fit their peers’ desires of

those career choices. For instance, if a female child’s female peer wishes to become a pilot,

although it is masculine-typical-occupation, the female child will broaden her horizons to

include the female gender in the pilot category. One of the respondents indicated:

“My friend’s ambition is to become police woman. I know there aren’t many police

women around, but she is very brave and strong and she wants to become.”

However, interestingly, findings did not indicate the same for a male child. All male

respondents never indicated in any way that their male friends had wanted to assume a female

occupation and therefore they believed that a male could assume a feminine-typical-

occupation.

Respondents also linked their friends’ parents’ occupations to their perception of

occupational roles. For instance, a respondent, whose friend’s father and mother were

dentists, indicated that both females and males could become dentist, justifying the thoughts

with her knowledge of her friend’ parents’ occupation.

As such, the findings indicate that peers are an influential factor towards a child’s

perception on occupational role specifically based on the peers’ ambition and their parents’

occupation. One research indicated that peers are important communicators of sex-role norms

 

 

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(Kessels, 2005). A study by Egan & Perry (2001) on 64 children which required to children

to name their favorite activity while they were alone and once more when their peers were

around showed that their answer were more gender typical when their peers were around. The

findings of this study are in line with the findings of the current study in indicating that peers

influence the gender-based stereotype among children.

Reading Material (Textbook, Novel).

One other factor that was identified as an influential factor was books. Any form of

reading material from school textbooks, novels, newspapers and magazines, were quoted by

the respondents in supporting their gender based stereotypical perception or non-stereotypical

perception towards occupational roles. Words such as ‘I read in the book’, ‘I saw in the

textbook’ and ‘There were pictures in my textbook’ were identified as leading statements

towards the underlying factor. One respondent in supporting her perception of why both

males and females can become chef said that:

“If you look into history, many famous chefs were men. I read this in a book. Jamie

Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Chef One. All men. So of course, boys can become chefs

and girls too”

In explaining about why she feels that both girls and boys can become mechanics, another

respondent said:

“Just because boys are more into cars it doesn’t mean that girls cannot be into cars.

Girls can do anything if they wish to. I read this novel once, Theastillon, in the novel,

the girl does everything that she wants to and is very brave. So I feel that every girl is

like her and they can do anything they want. Like become a mechanic. Boy also can”

One such research that supports this finding it a research conducted on 9 and 10 year

old children which found that children were more likely to perceive females to participate in

 

 

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gender-atypical activities after they read storybooks with the female protagonists in gender-

atypical activities (Scott & Feldman-Summers, 1979).

Another respondent, in supporting her stereotypical perception towards why only girls

can and should become fashion designers said that:

“Boys are just simple. Girls are the ones who care more about looks. I saw it in a book

that I read, and in the book the girls was very fancy and all. That’s why I feel girls

care more about looks than boys”

A respondent who perceived that both females and males can become astronauts said

that she gained her knowledge from the newspaper. A recent study indicated that the numbers

of occupations that children believe are appropriate for women, increased after those children

were exposed to a storybook with female protagonists in atypical gender roles (Karniol &

Gal-Disegni, 2009).

“Both can if they want. I recently see in the news, in the newspaper, girl also, boy

also. So both can become. But must have skill and must know how.”

In supporting her perception towards why only males can become soldiers, one

respondent responded by saying that her school textbook, through is pictures indicated that

only males can become soldiers, because there were only males pictures as soldier and no

female pictures as soldiers. Although in this case, the school textbook only helped her

reaffirm her thoughts, it never the less can be identified as an underlying factor.

“Soldier must be brave. So only boys can. Even in the school textbook, the pictures of

soldier are boys, no girls. So that means that only boys can become. Girls cannot.”

From the above examples of respondents’ statements, it can be seen that books,

newspapers, textbooks, and any other written from have an influence on children’s perception

 

 

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of gender role particularly towards occupational roles. Children perceive their reality,

thoughts and feelings according to what they read or see in reading materials. Current

findings has consistent with previous research where a longitudinal study on Zimbabwean

girls from age 9 to 12 found that, girls who were exposed to gender-atypical storybook for a

longer duration were noted to have changed their career plans from gender-typical

occupations to gender-atypical occupations. Whereas this change was noted to be much lesser

among girls who were not exposed gender-atypical storybooks (Nhundu, 2007).

Media.

Media has been noted to be another underlying factor that influences children to

perceive their gender-based stereotypical or non-stereotypical thoughts on occupational roles.

As a matter of fact, it has been noted to be the most prominent factor among all other factors.

Words such as ‘I watched on TV, ‘I saw on TV’, ‘I watched movie’, ‘In the movie’,

‘Discovery Channel’, ‘There is a movie’ were noted in the responses of the respondents as an

indication that their perception was influenced by the media.

Media was seen to have influenced the perception of the respondents towards gender-

atypical occupational roles (such as females becoming firefighter, or males becoming fashion

designer). One of the respondents’ who had indicated that men can become fashion designers

supported her perception and thought by pointing out to the famous television reality show in

which one of the male participants was a fashion designer.

“You know Masterchef, there is a one boy participant. He is a fashion designer”

Additionally, the findings also indicated children between the ages of 9 to 13 learn

about gender-neutral-occupations from the media. Respondents had indicated that both males

and females can become chefs. One such example from a respondent supported her

 

 

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perception and thought by pointing out to the famous television reality show Masterchef

which comprises of male and female participants.

“There are male and females in Masterchef.”

“I saw on TV-Masterchef. The boys are very good”

“Masterchef has both boy and girl participants. That means that both boys and girls

can learn how to cook and work in restaurants and hotel”

Two other respondents, who perceived that both females and males could become fire

fighters, had indicated that they had watched it in a movie on the Television and six other

respondents who perceived that both females and males could assume the role of a police

officer had indicated that they too had watched a movie with a policeman and policewomen.

Below are some of the recorded responses.

“There was this movie, I saw a woman firefighter. I know there aren’t woman

firefighters in Malaysia, but I saw it in this movie. So I am not sure if they can

become in Malaysia but I believe that if they wanna, they can”

“If you see in the television, there police man and then there are police women. The

police women are very good. They can solve many cases. They are very smart and the

man police help them catch the criminal”

The findings indicate the media is a very strong tool to influence the perception of

children between the age of 9 and 13 toward occupational roles. However, the findings

highlight that media exposure influences children to have only gender-based non-

stereotypical perception towards occupational roles and not gender-based stereotypical

perception towards occupational. Therefore this indicates that media seems to be a positive

 

 

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influence towards children in helping them create neutral perceptions towards both male and

female occupational role.

Past studies contradicting to the recent findings however had indicated that exposure

towards media causes more gender stereotype. A study conducted by McGhee and Frueh

(1980) on children between ages 6 to 13 found that heavy television viewers (children who

spent 25 or more hours for television per week) reported higher gender role stereotype as

compared to light television viewers (children who spent 10 or less hours for television per

week).

School.

School was also identified as one of the underlying factors that influence a child’s

perception of occupational roles. What a teacher says in class has been seen to have an effect

on the child’s thought which is then linked to occupational roles. For instance, one teacher of

a respondent had mentioned playfully in class that boys are stronger and smarter than girls.

While the respondent tried to justify as to why girls cannot become doctors, she had quoted

her teacher in saying that boys are smarter and girls are not as smart as boys and as such, they

cannot become doctors.

“Mr. Vijay said that boys are smarter than girls. Girls are not so smart. So girls cannot

become doctors because to become doctor you need to be smart.”

Another respondent believe that although she had not seen female astronauts, females could

still become astronauts because her teacher had told them so in class.

“Because teacher said in class that girls also can become astronauts”

This clearly indicates that the education system, the school and teachers play a crucial

role in molding the child’s perception towards occupational role. Tzampazi, Kyridis &

 

 

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Christodoulou (2013) indicated in their research that a child’s behavior is shaped by

behaviors of others, especially parents and teachers, through the process of observation and

imitation. As such, if the teachers portray gender role stereotype on occupational roles, the

student will automatically be influenced by the act of the teacher and may further imitate the

gender role stereotype on occupational roles.

Another research which highlighted the importance of school being an influencing

factor on gender role stereotype was a research conducted on 247 elementary children aged 7

to 11 years old. The findings indicated that children as young as second grade reported that

“math is for boys”. This study suggested that math-gender stereotype in school may limit the

ability for girls in mathematics which may affect their future career choices (Cvencek,

Meltzoff & Greenwald, 2011).

General Experiences.

Another prominent factor which was identified through the data collection was the

general experience and exposure that these respondents had gotten in their life, from

experience such as hospital visits, mall visits and shops. In such instance, respondents were

observed using words like ‘I saw’ and ‘I’ve seen’, indicating that they form a certain thought

process or reality out of the their surrounding experiences, environment or exposure. As such,

if a respondent had seen, experienced, observed or been exposed to both genders practicing a

certain occupation, they would form a reality that both genders can assume that particular

occupational role. On the contrary, it was observed that if the respondent had not seen,

experiences, observed or been exposed to a particular gender, then their reality will be formed

on the basis that only one gender can assume that occupational role- the gender that they saw

and were exposed to.

 

 

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For instance, below was the response of respondents who had seen both genders

practicing a particular occupational role and were convinces that both genders could assume

the occupational role if they had the will and desire to do so:

“Once I took my sister to the hospital and I saw at the hospital, girls and boys

doctors”

“I went to Malacca for holiday, and outside on the road, there were many painters.

There were ladies and men and both were good”

“Next to my tuition is a flower shop. They sell flower there and there is one boy and

one girl working there. So I know that even if boys don’t like flowers then can still

become florist”

On the other hand, respondents who had seen or been exposed to only one gender

(either male of female) working as a particular occupation, believed that only that particular

gender could and should assume that particular occupational role. In line with that, below are

the recorded responses of the respondents:

“If you go to the hospital, who are all the nurses there? Girls. So it’s a girl-job not a

boy-job”

“I have been to the hospital many many times since I was a baby and I only saw girl

nurses; I have never seen a man nurse. What does that mean? It means that only girls

are supposed to become nurses, not boys”

“Boys cannot become florist because they are not gentle. When they see flowers they

step on it. I saw once. And there was once, I saw this boy, he killed a butterfly. Boys

don’t like nature”

 

 

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Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendations

5.1 Conclusion

The aim of the research was to understand how children between ages 9 and 13

perceive occupational roles in terms of gender and how they identify the gender related factor

that may influence their perception of occupational role. The findings that were attained in

the research not only supported the theory by Gottfredson which indicated that children

between the ages of 9 and 13 are influenced by their social settings which surround them, but

the findings also very clearly satisfied the aim of the research. As our study reaching the end,

we have discovered:

5.1.1 Gender Role Stereotype

The findings of the study indicated that children ages between 9 to 13 years old did

show gender role stereotype where they tended to classify female and male into different

traits. For example, respondents used words like gentle, like to dress up, like flower, creative,

dependent, patient, caring, careful and soft to describe female. Whereas words like

dangerous, strong, brave, fast, smart, rough and simple dressing used by respondents to

describe male. This findings indicated that children ages between 9 to 13 years old did have

stereotype perception on gender which may influence their perception on occupational role.

5.1.2 Gender Role Stereotype Perception on Occupational Roles

The findings of the study also found that children ages between 9 to 13 years old

tended to show gender role stereotype when they perceive occupational roles. For example,

occupations such as firefighter, mechanic, pilot and soldier perceived by respondents as male-

based occupation. Whereas, occupations like baby-sitter, florist and nurse perceived by

respondents as female-based occupation. This findings indicated that gender role stereotype

could influence their perception on occupational role and limit their options in selecting

future career.

 

 

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5.1.3 The Underlying Factors of Gender Role Stereotype

The findings of the study have clearly pointed out factors such as media, parents,

peers, school, experiences and previously learnt gender role stereotype and the underlying

factors which influence the gender-role stereotypical perception of occupational roles among

children between ages 9 to 13. Media, parents, peers and schools, influence children to craft

their reality of occupational roles, in accordance to the exposure that they receive. The more

they are exposed to both genders performing the occupation, the lesser stereotype they have

and on the contrary, the more they are exposed to only one gender performing the occupation,

the more they display gender-role stereotype on occupational roles.

As the awareness of children about occupation grows, they imagine occupational

choices, draw tentative inferences, and select occupations by assessing oneself and the

environment around them (Ginzberg et al., 1951 as cited in Sellers, Satcher & Comas, 1999).

As such, if children will only make a reality of their ambition based on assessing what they

have seen, heard, or experienced. Therefore, if children between the ages 9 and 13 have a

high gender-role stereotype on occupational roles, they career choices will only be limited to

what they perceive they can or should do based on their stereotype perception.

The results yielded from the research (Tzampazi, Kyridis & Christodoulou, 2013,

Irwin, Sarah, & Elley, 2013) supported the many researches which identified parents as an

influencing factor in the formation of children’s stereotypical perception. The findings of

current study were very much in line with the past research that indicated the influence of

school in shaping gender-role stereotype (Cvencek, Meltzoff & Greenwald, 2011).

The findings of current research not only reinforces the findings of past researches

about media influences on gender-role stereotype (McGhee & Frueh, 1980), it also shed new

light about the influence of media, in indicating that media is not entirely a negative influence

 

 

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that causes more stereotype, but can be a positive influence in helping children eliminate

gender-role stereotype on occupational role.

According to research, it has been established that children learn according to the

information they receive from their surroundings, such as parent-child interaction,

reinforcement for desired behavior, parental approval or disapproval, and role modeling

(Witt, 1997). As such, it is utmost important that children receive exposures and experiences

which help them build a non-gender-role stereotypical perception toward occupational roles,

allowing them to freely choose and decide their occupations based on their interest and

ability.

One respondent had stated, “My teacher says boys are smarter than girls, so it means

girls cannot become dentists, because dentist need to be smart” This was an awakening

statement about how profoundly influential the social settings of children can be on their

occupational role perception. Therefore, it is not only important to understand the influential

factors which cause these gender-role stereotypical perceptions but it is also crucial to act

upon these factors to make sure that children are able to form their future career choice based

upon their interest and ability, and not based upon their gender role stereotype.

5.2 Limitations

Like every other research, this research too holds it limitation and gaps for further

improvement. Firstly, the limited time of engagement between researchers and respondents

did not allow researchers to probe the depths of the specific underlying factors which

influence the gender role stereotype in occupational roles among these respondents.

One other limitation lies in the weakness of respondents’ interpretation. Since the

respondents of the study are children who aged 9 to 13, the data recorded from the

respondents were mostly based on their level of understanding of the interview questions and

 

 

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tasks given to them. As such, the respondents could have interpreted the interview questions

in a way different from that narrated by the researcher.

5.3 Recommendations

There is much more work can be done in order to get a clearer picture of underlying

factors which could have had influenced the occupational role perceptions of children

between ages 9 and 13. Future studies could expand our work by including more diverse

sample such as children from other races, children from other states of Malaysia or even

children who migrated to Malaysia from other country. Future studies also could expand our

work by conducting cross-cultural studies such as children from Singapore to test whether

children outside Malaysia present the gender role stereotype on occupational roles.

Besides that, future study could also expand our study by spending more time to

engage with respondents in order to come out with broader outcomes. For example, future

studies could focus on gender sensitization based on how children aged between 9 to 13 years

old are influenced by models from their surrounding environment such as characters in the

cartoon they watched, parents, teachers, peers and others.

To better the study further, a recommendation for future researches is that they probe

further into the factors that influence the gender-role stereotype on occupational role among

children, through a longitudinal approach so that we are able to better understand the cause

and effect of these factors.

 

 

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Appendices

 

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Appendix 1

Consent Form

Prospective Research Subject: Read this consent form carefully. Ask as many questions as

you like before you decide whether you want to participate in this research study. You are

free to ask questions at any time before, during, or after your participation in this research.

Project Title: Children’s Gender Role Stereotype Perception on Occupational Roles

Principal Researchers: Ajeet Kaur, Hajer Keliem, Michelle Tee

Telephone: 1) Ajeet Kaur (012-3083315)

2) Hajer Keliem (010-2633840)

3) Michelle Tee (012-2032536)

E-mail: 1)Ajeet Kaur (ajeet26@gmail.com)

2) Hajer Keliem (hajer_kaliem@homail.com)

3) Michelle Tee (teemeiyee2020@hotmail.com)

Organization: HELP college of Arts and Technology

Location of Study:

There is no specific location to conduct this study. This study will be conduct in a venue or

location selected by the guardians or parents of the participants.

Purpose of This Research Study

You are being asked to participate in a research study designed to understand the gender role

stereotype in occupational roles among children aged 9 to 13 years old.

 

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This study will be conduct as part of researchers’ Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at HELP

college of Arts and Technology in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Procedures

The subject will be asked to complete Gender-Occupation Matching Test. In the Gender-

Occupation Matching Test, the subject will be asked to name one male name and one female

name that will be written on a piece of paper and be placed on the table. Then the subject will

be given a set of 38 cards with 19 different occupations, 2 cards with one occupation. The

subject will then be asked to classify the cards according to who they think would be more

likely to work as the given occupational titles (for example, who would be more likely to be

baby-sitter?).

The subject will also be required to complete a face to face interview after the Gender-

Occupation Matching Test. You may expect to spend approximately 20 to 30 minutes to

complete this study.

Possible Risks

There are no possible risks in this study.

Possible Benefits

You will receive no direct benefit from participating in this study; however the findings of

this study may create awareness in the society, that gender stereotype of occupational role

could affect and limit children’s thought process in choosing their future occupation.

Financial Considerations

You will not receive any financial compensation for your participation nor will you incur any

costs as a result of your participation in this research.

 

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Confidentiality

Your identity in this study will be treated as confidential. Results of the study, including all

collected data, may be published in our dissertation and in possible future journal articles and

professional presentations, but your name or any identifiable references to you will not be

included. However, any records or data obtained as a result of your participation in this study

may be inspected by the persons conducting this study and/or HELP college of Arts and

Technology, provided that such inspectors are legally obligated to protect any identifiable

information from public disclosure, except where disclosure is otherwise required by law or a

court of competent jurisdiction. These records will be kept private in so far as permitted by

law.

Termination of Study

You are free to choose whether to participate in this study. You may also choose to withdraw

from the study or to decline to answer any questions at any time. You will not be penalized or

lose any benefits to which you are otherwise entitled if you choose not to participate or

choose to withdraw. You will be provided with any significant new findings developed

during the course of this study that may relate to or influence your willingness to continue

participation. In the event you decide to discontinue your participation in the study, please

notify [Ajeet Kaur ( 012-3083315) / Hajer Keliem (010-2633840) / Michelle Tee (012-

2032536) ] of your decision so that your participation can be terminated in an orderly fashion.

After the Study is Completed

Researchers will provide the summary of the result of this study to you via email.

 

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Resources

Any questions you may have about this study will be answered by:

Researchers:

1) Ajeet Kaur (012-3083315) Email: ajeet26@gmail.com

2) Hajer Keliem (010-2633840) Email: hajer_kaliem@homail.com

3) Michelle Tee (012-2032536) Email: teemeiyee2020@hotmail.com

Or researchers’ supervisor:

1) Dr Angelo Maduli Email: angelo.cm@helpcat.edu.my

Subject and Researcher Authorization

I have read and understand this consent form, and I voluntarily consent to my child’s

participation in this research study. I understand that my consent does not take away any legal

rights in the case of negligence or other legal fault of anyone who is involved in this study. I

further understand that nothing in this consent form is intended to replace any applicable

federal, state, or local laws.

 

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Signatures

Participant Name:

_______________________________________________________

Parent/Guardian Name:

_______________________________________________________

Parent/Guardian Signature:

___________________________

Date:

___________________________

Principal Researcher’s Name: Principal Researcher’s Signature:

Ajeet Kaur Mohon Singh

___________________________

Date:

___________________________

Person obtaining consent, if other than principal investigator:

___________________________

Signature:

___________________________

Date:

___________________________

 

 August 21, 2014

1 SNHU@HELP CAT 

Appendix 2

No.  

Respondent’s age  

Respondent’s gender  

Hello , how are you today? (Ask ice breaker questions such as day at school or tuition)

I am going to be asking you some questions about ambitions. Do you know what ambitions mean? I am also going to be asking you some questions about occupations. Do you know what occupations mean?

Respondent Profile

1. What is your father’s occupation and what do you think about your father’s occupation?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

2. What is your mother’s occupation and what do you think about your mother’s

occupation? (If mother is homemaker/housewife, ask what the child thinks about that)

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

3. Is your brother is working? (if NO skip question, if YES…) what is his occupation and

what do you think about your brother’s occupation?

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

 

 August 21, 2014

2 SNHU@HELP CAT 

4. Is your sister is working? (if NO skip question, if YES…) what is her occupation and

what do you think about your sister’s occupation?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

5. Do you know the occupation of your close relative, such as your uncle, cousin brother,

and grandfather and if so, what are their occupation and how do you describe his

occupation to be (how do you think about their occupation)?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

6. Do you know the occupation of your close relative, such as your aunty, cousin sister,

grandmother, and if so, what is her occupation and how do you describe her occupation to

be (what do you think about their occupation)?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

7. Is your brother still studying, and if so, state one of his preferred ambitions (of what you

know he wants to be when he grows up); and what do you think of this ambition?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

 

 August 21, 2014

3 SNHU@HELP CAT 

8. Is your sister still studying, and if so, state one of her preferred ambitions (of what you

know she wants to be when she grows up); and what do you think of this ambition?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

9. State two of your preferred ambitions (of what you want to be when you grow up) and

how did you arrive at these ambitions?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Gender-Occupation Match Test Instructions

Now we are going to play an activity with you. It is called a matching activity. Remember, there is no right and wrong answer for the activity. Anything that you feel is right will be recorded and anything that you feel does not match will be recorded. You will not receive any points for being fast or finishing the activity faster. Take your time to finish the activity.

First I would like you to give me one female name and one male name. Any name that comes up in your mind will do.

Now I am going to place the

1. female name on the left and male name on the right ( ) 2. male name on the left and female name on the right ( )

I am going to leave this box on the table. The box contains 38 papers, which have 19 occupations on them. You will find two papers with one occupation. Let’s take an example of a ‘policeman’. There will be two papers with the word ‘policeman’ written on them. When we start the activity, you are supposed to take each paper and arrange them under the name of the female if you think a female can do this occupation or arrange them under the name of the male if you think a male can do this occupation. You are allowed to put one occupation under both the female and male name if you feel that both females and males can do the occupation.

Do you understand the instruction clearly? Shall we start now?

 

 August 21, 2014

4 SNHU@HELP CAT 

Gender-Occupation Match Test Results

Why do you put (certain) job to (certain) gender?

Why do you think so?

Who told you this?

Where did you learn this from?

Labelling: (Gender B: Both / F: Female / M: Male)

Name of Occupation Gender Data Collection

Astronaut

 

Baby-sitter

 

Chef

 

Dentist

 

Doctor

 

Fashion Designer

 

 

 August 21, 2014

5 SNHU@HELP CAT 

Firefighter

 

Florist

 

Hair-dresser

 

Journalist

 

Mechanic

 

Nurse

 

Painter

 

Pilot

 

 

 August 21, 2014

6 SNHU@HELP CAT 

Police

 

Secretary

 

Singer

 

Soldier

 

Teacher

 

Debrief

Thank you very much for participating this this research. You have been very participative

and helpful. There are no right and wrong to this activity. We are just trying to find out what

you think about ambitions and occupations.

Researchers name:

_______________________________

Signature:

_______________________________

 

 August 21, 2014

1 SNHU@HELP CAT 

Appendix 3

List of Occupations made into cards for Gender-Occupation Matching Test

Astronaut - going to the moon

Pilot - flying the airplane

Doctor - treating sick patients

Mechanic - repairing cars

Solider – defend country

Fire fighter - putting out fire

Police - catching thieves

Teacher - teaching at schools and tuitions

Nurse - caring for patients at hospitals

Fashion designer - designing and making clothes

 

 August 21, 2014

2 SNHU@HELP CAT 

Hair dresser - cutting and styling hair

Baby-sitter - taking care of children

Secretary - making appointments

Florist – sell flowers

Dentist - fixing teeth

Singer - singing songs

Painter - painting pictures

Journalist - writing in newspaper

Chef - cooking at restaurants

 

 

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